


Little Things: Prom

by caidanu (Zanya)



Series: Little Things Verse [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Humor, Language, One-Sided Attraction, One-sided Naruto and Sasuke attraction, Other, Slice of Life, Unrequited Crush, mentions of alcohol use, mentions of drug use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2014-04-14
Packaged: 2018-01-19 00:02:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1447888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zanya/pseuds/caidanu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naruto had talked him into going to prom. Sasuke only agreed for his peace of mind and to see Naruto get into a tux.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rasengan22](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rasengan22/gifts).



> Quick note before the story. There are no pairings in this. Just friends getting together and going to prom. Also, no character bashing. Only how Sasuke sees some of his classmates.

Sasuke maneuvered around Naruto, gently moving him to the side and narrowly missing the toilet next to the sink. He cursed softly and winced when his big toe caught the bottom edge of it but swallowed down any noise lest Naruto bother him with questions about whether or not he did that on purpose to avoid taking Karin to prom. 

The bathroom in his bedroom was way too small for two people to squeeze into it, but Naruto had insisted they both get ready and leave for prom at the same time. Only, after dinner, he had somehow managed to beat Sasuke into the bathroom five minutes earlier by zooming upstairs at the speed of light. 

All it would take would be for Naruto to make a sudden movement, and he could find himself shoved halfway into the small shower. 

After steadying himself out, Sasuke’s eyes moved up to the mirror, giving it a ‘once-over’ before stopping mid-stare. In the five minutes Naruto had been alone in here, the mirror somehow and mysteriously procured little smudges on the middle of it and around the edges. 

Sasuke scowled. Smudges made by sweaty fingers no doubt. Grimy sweaty Naruto fingers that had managed to smear even a little bit of spittle. How anyone could manage to somehow spit on the mirror while looking at it boggled his mind? That no attempt had been made to clean it properly felt like a nail being driven into his skull. 

Sasuke took a deep breath, counted to fifteen, and sighed, his knuckles white from gripping the edge of the sink so tightly. He had just cleaned it before Naruto came over. It had only been five minutes, and he never would have left Naruto alone for that long in the bathroom had his mother not asked him to help reach the wine glasses from the top shelf of the china closet. 

“So, how do I look, Sasuke?” Naruto grinned and slicked back his hair again, smoothing out the edges. “Stylin?”

Sasuke then watched, in morbid fascination while Naruto proceeded to make all kinds of strange faces in the mirror from baring his teeth to pulling his lips down near his chin with his fingers. Sasuke rolled his eyes. It explained where the spit had come from. 

“Like a dumbass.” Sasuke’s eyes slid to his right, and he rested his hands on the porcelain sink. He glanced up over at Naruto again in the mirror for a couple seconds to figure out what he’d say next. His lips tilted up into a smirk when he thought about what Naruto’s reaction would be. “And sloppy as usual.” 

“Hey… what?” Naruto gasped like Sasuke had just said something remarkably abnormal. His mouth dropped and he gaped at Sasuke while his arms flailed around. “I don’t look... sloppy!” 

“Sure you do.” Sasuke turned and adjusted Naruto’s bow tie before straightening out his shirt collar. “Your clothes are cockeyed. So is your hair, or… you look like a dork with it slicked back.” 

“Don’t even go there with my hair, asshole.” Naruto smacked the side of Sasuke’s shoulder earning an elbow to the side in return. “That’s not a big deal. Jeez, by the way you acted I thought I had a huge stain on my clothes or somethin.”

“This is our prom, Naruto. You could at least try to look classy.” Sasuke ran his fingers through the back of his hair so that the ends spiked out a little and patted his bangs down. “I’m sure your date will appreciate the effort.”

Naruto childishly stomped his foot down and swatted Sasuke’s hip. He hastily looked into the mirror and smoothed his hair back down with his fingers. “I do look classy! I put a lot of work into this. When have I ever worn a tux before? Never, that’s when!” He face started turning red and he let out a dramatic sigh. “I’m not even wearing orange tonight. That’s how much of an effort I made to look nice!”

“Are you planning on getting laid?” Sasuke adjusted his black tie and moved on to the collar of his shirt, making sure it lay down neatly against his neck. 

“What? I don’t know, maybe,” Naruto shrugged casually before giving Sasuke a suspicious glare. “It’s not like I’d tell you anyway. A gentleman never gives details and certainly not to demanding bastards like you.”

Sasuke grunted and glanced over at Naruto from the mirror. “I see Itachi had that talk with you too.”

“Yeah, so what of it?” Naruto shuffled a few steps away from Sasuke, moving closer to the door like he was getting ready to bolt if necessary. “I’m allowed to talk to Itachi.”

“I never said you weren’t. Why are you being so defensive? You like him or something?” Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and he could almost count down until Naruto exploded everywhere. “If you like him that much, maybe you should have taken him to prom. I bet he'd agree to it. It's a terrible thing to string that nice Hyuuga girl along.” 

“What? No! It’s… it’s not like that, you bastard!” Naruto’s hands flew up the air as his voice became louder. He puffed his cheeks out and pointed his finger at Sasuke. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“Then why do you always follow him around and make big moon eyes at him whenever he gives you advice?” Sasuke’s lips tilted upwards even though he felt annoyed by Naruto’s antics and irritated that he allowed himself to get roped into all this in the first place. Goading Naruto was too fun sometimes and definitely a fair exchange for the mess on the mirror. 

Naruto eyes got big for a moment before he let out an exaggerated sigh, his shoulders heaving up and then back down quickly. “Oh my god, will you stop with that! It’s called a man crush Sasuke.” His arms flew back into the air. “Man crush. I can’t help it Itachi’s so badass. Women want to be with him and men want to be him. That’s how it works.”

Sasuke shrugged. “I don’t know. Itachi’s always seemed open about that sort of thing. I’m sure if you offered him your undying devotion and pledged to forever be his minion, he’d think about it.”

“Don’t be an asshole.” Naruto flicked Sasuke’s shoulder as hard as he could. “Like you’d ever give out better advice. Maybe if you weren’t such a jerk, people would want to man-crush on you too.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes again and smacked Naruto back on the shoulder. “Is there any part about me that says I would want other men to do that?” 

“Dunno. Maybe. Sometimes I wonder.” Naruto gave him a once over and shrugged. “You seem really hyped up that I go to Itachi for advice.”

“I know that you shouldn’t even be thinking about having sex tonight.” Sasuke blatantly ignored Naruto’s jab and changed the subject. If he hadn’t, they’d be there all night, fighting over his brother. Again. 

The last time that had happened, they both ended tangled up on the floor with Naruto’s foot jammed his thigh and his fist in Naruto’s hair. And all because Naruto had wanted them all to go to the movies, and Sasuke wanted to stay in that night and spend time with his brother. Itachi had found them both like that and had to manually separate them.

“Oh, and why is that?” Naruto scrunched up his nose and folded his arms across his chest. 

“Because, your date is too nice of a girl for that,” Sasuke simply replied and turned back to the mirror. “And I’m pretty sure Neji would have your head for it.”

Naruto waved the supposed mild threat away with his hand. “Neji can suck it. Bastard didn’t even bother to tell me he was leaving for college last summer. Barely returns my calls anymore or texts me back.” 

Sasuke looked at Naruto dryly. “I’ll be sure to pass that along next time I talk to him.”

“Hey, don’t even think about it. He’ll be all pissy about it.” Naruto’s eyes momentarily got huge. “And no one, I mean no one can do that thing he does where it sounds like he’s whining and trying to kill you with his words at the same time.”

“Maybe I misheard but didn't you just say he could suck it?” Sasuke turned back to look at his reflection in the mirror. “If you didn’t mean it then you shouldn’t have said it.”

“What the fuck crawled up your asshole and died?” Naruto gave Sasuke his best glare, which really wasn’t all that intimidating, especially with his hair slicked back. He only succeeded in reminding Sasuke of a wet rat. 

“Nothing crawled up my ass.” Sasuke watched as Naruto’s face went from pissed off to an attractive pout. Not that he planned on allowing something like that to cloud his irritation. If anything, it would only fuel his need to irritate Naruto even more. He needed a distraction. “Let me ask you something.” He jerked his head to his left and pointed. “What the hell did you do to my mirror?” 

Naruto opened his mouth and then closed it. His eyes twitched, and he shifted his hands from his waist to behind his back. Naruto swallowed a few times then looked away and pretended like the wall had something worth scrutinizing. “I-I didn’t do anything to it. Dunno what you’re talking about.” 

That was the worst thing Naruto could have said. Sasuke balled his hands into fists. He hated it when Naruto couldn’t be straight forward with him. 

Sasuke took a step towards Naruto and his voice lowered until he could have spit fire with it. “How hard is it not to mess everything you touch up?” 

“I’m not messing up everything I touch!” Naruto went to move in towards the mirror only to have Sasuke block him. “You’re too fussy about everything. Jeez, nothing is ever in place for you. It’s not my fault you’re OCD.” 

The more Naruto moved the less room Sasuke had to work with. While he didn’t mind getting Naruto riled up, a well-placed jab in his abdomen stopped him from going any further. They would be at this all night if he let it continue. 

“Chill out, Naruto.” Sasuke maneuvered himself so that he used his shoulder to keep Naruto from coming any closer. Once Naruto stepped back, he relaxed his shoulders. “There’s no need to get your panties in a twist. And I’m not OCD. The mirror looks like you took your hands and smeared goop all over the place. Where you trying to finger paint with your spit while I was downstairs?” 

“No,” Naruto opened his mouth to say more only to close it back up again. 

“Whatever.” Sasuke shook his head and bent down. 

Opening the bottom cabinet under the sink, he pulled out the Windex and a paper towel that hung on the inside of the door. He sprayed the mirror and began vigorously wiping it off until an obnoxious squeaking sound emanated from it. Judging by the way Naruto screwed his eyes shut, Sasuke felt he must have been doing a good job making it as obnoxious as possible. 

“I can do it if it’s that big of a deal.” Naruto went to grab the paper towel from Sasuke’s hand only to be stopped by a swift kick to his shin. “Hey, why’d you do that for?” 

He ignored Naruto’s offer, sprayed the mirror down again. This time he vigorously wiped it down until he got rid of all the streaks and spots on it. The last thing he wanted was to allow Naruto to do it and make it even dirtier. 

After a particularly harsh squeak made Naruto wince, and once Sasuke deemed it good enough, he put the Windex and paper towels away. He kneed the door shut and stood up. 

Taking a few breaths, he closed his eyes and calmed himself. When he felt a bump on his shoulder, Sasuke stopped Naruto’s failing by grabbing onto his arm. “Hold still for a minute. You’re moving around too much in here.” 

When Naruto finally stopped, Sasuke looked him over. The hair thing still aggravated him. Reaching forward, Sasuke picked and pulled strands of Naruto’s hair until it stood up slightly messy and spiky on his head. Naruto always looked better when his hair was in a little disarray. 

As he moved his fingers through it, Sasuke noticed how Naruto’s hair smelled clean and musky. It felt so soft that he didn’t want to stop messing with it. So he took his time, enjoying the feel of it under his fingers while he could. “There. That’s little better.”

“Why did you do that?” Naruto softly asked while he gently touched the top of his head, his eyes wide and curious. “What was wrong with it before? It took me forever to get it to stay down.” 

“Your hair looks better like that than flat against your head. You looked like an idiot before.” Sasuke finished adjusting a few stray hairs and then stepped back. “Now, it looks good.”

“Eh, okay… thanks.” Naruto eyed him warily. “You almost ready cause it’s about time to leave.” 

“I’ll be down in a minute.” Sasuke quickly turned back to the mirror and pretended to be interested in his hair. 

“I’ma go and wait for you in the car then.” Naruto patted him on the back and then closed the bathroom door softly behind him. 

Sasuke looked down at his pants where a partial tent had formed. Just from touching Naruto’s hair. That’s all it took. He felt pathetic. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Naruto had even noticed. 

He leaned against the sink again, his left hand pushed on the top of his pants. Hissing, he gripped the edge of the sink and waited until some of the pressure in his pants eased up. There was no way he could go down to the car with an erection. 

Not only would his mother probably catch him on his way out the door and make him feel extremely awkward, but if Naruto saw, he’d never live it down and there’d probably be questions he wasn’t ready to answer. So Sasuke kept pressing and thought back to a couple months ago when Sakura stuck her hands down his pants. 

~*~  
Sasuke opened up the driver’s side door and slid into his seat. He buckled his seatbelt and then reached into his pocket and pulled out the car keys. “You have the corsages?”

“Yeah, I grabbed them on my way out.” Naruto stuck his arm out and glanced at his watch. “Hey, what took you so long, bastard? The girls will be pissed if we’re late.”

“You mean your cousin will be pissed if we’re late.” Sasuke started the engine, release the e-brake, put the car into reverse, and pulled out of his driveway. “I don’t think Hinata will mind because she’s a decent, reasonable human being who doesn’t throw tantrums over the smallest things. And we won’t be late. We told Karin a quarter till six and it’s only five thirty. Won’t take me that long to get there.”

“Oh, jeez, you’re on that again.” Naruto pressed his finger on the window button and rolled it down as they headed towards the Hyuugas. “Karin is not that bad once you get to know her. She can be reasonable at times.”

“I’ve lost all ability to trust your judgment ever since you tried to tell me Sai didn’t have a crush on you. And since when has Karin ever been calm about anything? Name one time, and I’ll drop it.” Sasuke glanced over at Naruto, who currently was playing with the radio. “She’s a nut bag. I’m pretty sure it was her who called last week and breathed heavily into my phone.”

“Sai doesn’t have a crush on me.” Naruto stopped changing the channels of a second to shoot him a glare. 

“He follows you around all day in between classes, making big moon eyes at you.” Sasuke put the car into third gear. “Trust me. He has a thing for you.”

“Whatever. Anyway, mom says she’ll grow out that.” Naruto turned on the local pop station and leaned back into the seat. “When she gets older, she’ll realize she needs to pull it back a little.” 

“Oh, so now we’re excusing psychotic behavior because ‘she’ll grow out of it?’ Yeah, I don’t think so.” Sasuke’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. It absolutely annoyed him when Naruto made excuses for Karin. “If she tries to touch my dick, I can’t be held accountable for what I might do.”

“You mean scream like a little bitch?” Naruto glance over at him and grinned. “Cause that’s what you did the last time a so-called crazy girl tried to put her hands down your pants.”

“There’s nothing wrong about not wanting a skank touching my goods.” Sasuke would never feel that to be an unreasonable reaction. No one had the right to invade his personal space without his permission. “And I didn’t ‘scream like a little bitch.’ Sakura caught me by surprise.”

“I swear, sometimes I wonder about you.” Naruto leaned against the window. “Most guys would’ve been happy to have a hot chick touch their junk.”

“There’s nothing to wonder about.” Sasuke had a feeling he knew where Naruto was going with this, but he wasn’t ready to have that talk with his best friend. Not yet. Maybe some other time when he could guarantee things wouldn’t feel so awkward. 

“Let’s get our dates and get the night over with.” Sasuke slowed down, put his car into second, turned left onto Euclid Avenue, and headed towards the Hyuuga’s.

“You make it sound like you’re going to your doom.” Naruto scrunched down into the seat, folded his arms across his chest, and glowered. 

“Maybe because I am.” Sasuke could see the Hyuuga’s house come into view up ahead. 

Naruto’s phone rang. Sasuke watched Naruto answer it out of the corner of his eye. He made a few nonsensical noises, let out a strange sounding squeak, and then said okay. He put his phone in his pocket and frowned. 

Sasuke pulled into Hinata’s driveway, put the car into first, pulled up on the e-brake, and cut the engine. He sighed. “Alright, what’s wrong?”

“That was a call from my aunt.” Naruto sighed and then slumped back into the seat. He turned his head towards Sasuke. “Karen’s sick and can’t go. I could hear her wailing about it in the background. She didn’t sound so good.” 

Sasuke took his left hand off the wheel and snapped his fingers. “Oh, damn, what a shame. I was really looking forward to hanging out with her tonight too. I guess I’ll have to get over the disappointment somehow.”

“Hey!” Naruto poked his shoulder. “You can at least pretend like you’re disappointed and be so damn mean about it.”

“Why? I’m not.” Sasuke opened the door and unbuckled his seat belt. “Come on. Your date is waiting for you.”

“Fine, whatever,” Naruto answered snappishly as he opened his door. He turned around and glanced back at Sasuke. “So what’re you going to do now?”

“Go by myself.” Sasuke shrugged as he opened the car door. He honestly didn’t mind going stag. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about making sure he was being a gentleman all night or need to look after anyone else.

“But, that’s lame.” Naruto shut the car door and waited for Sasuke to come around and join him. “You don’t wanna go by yourself, do you? I mean, what’re you gonna do and who’ll you talk to?”

“Really, I don’t mind if I do.” Sasuke leaned against the side of his car and sighed. He had a feeling Naruto wouldn’t leave it alone. “Look, don’t make this a thing tonight. The point is to go and have fun, right?”

The walk up to the front door was relatively short. Naruto led the way with Sasuke following closely behind him. While they walked in silence, Sasuke contemplated what he would do with the rest of his night. Ideally, Naruto would need to make sure he paid most of his attention to Hinata. When they finally reached the cement stoop, he stopped short of bumping into Naruto’s back. 

The Hyuuga’s had a large white house with lilac trim. They also had a fantastic landscaper. White gardenias and lilies were planted along the sides of the house. Shrubs were neatly lined along the walkway, making it look more like a path than a sidewalk. Sasuke had always wondered what the inside looked like. 

Naruto rang the doorbell and tapped his foot against the concrete stoop. It always amazed Sasuke how much energy Naruto had pent up no matter what they were doing. It often seemed like all of it was on the verge of exploding at any moment to consume everything around him. Sometime it exhausted him just watching his best friend move around like that. 

Mrs. Hyuuga answered the door dressed in a simple purpled summer dress and had her hair pulled up into a loose bun. She looked them over once and then shooed them inside. “Hinata will be ready soon.”

They stepped inside and into a small entryway. A longer hallway beyond it led out into the rest of the house. A couple tasteful pictures of flowers were hung up on the wall and there was a stand that had an expensive looking red and black vase sitting on it. 

Sasuke toed off his shoes while Naruto did the same. They stood there and waited for Mrs. Hyuuga to lead them to where they would undoubtedly wait for Hinata.

“You can wait in the living room.” Mrs. Hyuuga pointed them to the right direction. “She’ll be along soon.” 

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” Naruto shyly asked, avoiding eye contact with her. 

Mrs. Hyuuga looked at Naruto inquisitively. “Sure. Let’s go into the kitchen.”

She led them down the hallway and stopped when they reached the middle. Mrs. Hyuuga pointed Sasuke in the direction of the living room. “Sit down and make yourself at home.”

When Sasuke realized Naruto was going to leave him alone, he walked over the couch, sat down, and rested his hands on his knees. He could hear muffled voices coming from the kitchen, but they weren’t loud enough that he could hear what was being said. Naruto had gotten some hair-brained idea into his head, Sasuke was sure of it. 

While he waited, Sasuke looked around the living room, trying to find something to focus on so he didn’t get bored. There wasn’t much in here. They didn’t even have a TV in the living he could use as a distraction. It looked more like a place where they entertained guests more than anything. 

Even the wall had been painted a bland cream color that seemed to serve the purpose of neutrality. The couch was comfortable enough, though, and so surprisingly soft that most likely it had been filled with down feathers. Sasuke ran his hand down the arm of it. He had never felt something quite so soft at the dark brown upholstery that covered it. 

Closing his eyes, Sasuke leaned back and listened to the sound of the Grandfather clock tick. The constant ticking as the seconds passed by lulled his thoughts into a comfortable silence where he could focus on nothing else. Occasionally, Naruto’s voice would reach him from the kitchen, and every once in awhile Mrs. Hyuuga would say something as well only to have it followed by more hushed whispering. 

The ticking sound grew louder in his head until finally Naruto came in the room with Mrs. Hyuuga. Naruto stopped just inside the threshold and shuffled his feet. Sasuke craned his head from the back of the couch and waited. Mrs. Hyuuga left the room, and he could hear her footsteps going up the stairs. 

Shoving his hands into his pockets, Naruto sighed and then sat down next to him. “Hey, are you opposed to taking Hanabi to the prom?”

Sasuke turned his head to the side and gave Naruto a shrug of his shoulders. “No, that would be fine, though I don’t mind going alone.”

“I know but it’d be weird, you know.” Naruto’s eyes darted around the room. He looked far too upset about it in Sasuke’s opinion. 

Sasuke sighed and put his hand across his eyes. “Not really. My original date is sick. And you’re way too worried about this. It’s prom, Naruto. Not something life changing.”

“Yeah, well, it’s important to most people. I don’t wanna be the only one with a date.” Naruto huffed and narrowed his eyes. He looked down at the floor and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’ll end up feeling like the third wheel or something. And it’ll get awkward.”

“It’s also something to be forgotten about by the time college rolls around.” Sasuke leaned his head against the back of the couch again. “So when do you think they’ll be ready to go?”

“Dunno.” Naruto shrugged, and Sasuke could tell he was still pouting a little. “Probably soon. Hinata was pretty much ready to go, but now she’s got to help her sister out with stuff.”

Sasuke blew out an exasperated sigh and settled back into a comfortable position on the couch. “Poke me when we're ready to go.”

“Hey,” Naruto leaned in close enough that Sasuke could feel warm breath along his neck. “Don't go to sleep. That'd be rude.”

Sasuke nudged Naruto away with his shoulder. “I'm not going to sleep, Naruto. I would like to enjoy some peace and quiet before there's no chance of getting any. And back up a little. There’s no reason for you to be this close and breathing all over me.”

“It won't be that bad.” Naruto put his hands behind his head and stretched his legs out across the floor. “Sure, it'll be loud but that's because everyone will be having fun.”

“Mhm,” Sasuke cracked an eye open and glanced over. “I'm sure some will be having more fun than others.”

“Well, you would have more fun if you didn't have the soul of a bitter old hermit.” Naruto giggled at his own joke before leaning forward and gently smacking Sasuke's arm. “Hey, sit up. They're coming down the hall.”

Sasuke sat up, cleared his throat, and turned towards the archway. Hinata walked into the living room with Hanabi following close behind. Sasuke and Naruto both stood up and waited until the girls stood in front of them.

Both the girls had their hair down, each with it pinned back to help keep it out of their faces. Hinata wore a simple silver gown that went all the way down to her ankles. Only a small amount of sequence lined the dress across the neckline. She had on matching high-healed dress sandals and a silver ankle bracelet. Hinata held a small silver clutch, pressed against her hip. 

He heard Naruto let out a quiet whistle and turned his attention to her sister. Hanabi’s wore a dark red gown that had sequence across the chest area, down to her abdomen and matching pumps. She also carried a clutch only hers was red like the dress. 

Sasuke was grateful that the corsage he bought was white. It would go nicely with her dress. He cleared his throat and tugged on the sleeve of Naruto's tux to pull him out of his stupor. 

Naruto blushed. He titled his head down a little and smiled at Hinata. “You look lovely.”

“Thank you,” Hinata quietly said. “You both look really nice. I’m sorry your date canceled, Sasuke.”

Sasuke politely smiled at Hinata’s thoughtfulness. “It’s fine. I’m sure we’ll have fun tonight anyway.”

Hanabi shyly glanced at Sasuke so he returned it and held out his hand. She took it and stood in front of him. Reaching into his inside pocket, he pulled out the little box that held the corsage in it and pinned it to her dress. Sasuke adjusted it until it sat just so and smiled. “Does it feel okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine,” she answered. “Thank you.”

Sasuke held out his arm and she took it. “Shall we go then?”

“Yeah, I think everyone’s ready.” Naruto looked to the girls for confirmation. 

When they both nodded their heads, Naruto took Hinata's arm in his and led them out back down the hallway and through the front door with Sasuke and Hanabi following close behind. Even though he tried to keep his eyes on Naruto’s head, Sasuke couldn’t help but lower them and stare as they made their way to his car. 

~*~  
The drive to the hotel their school rented out for prom only took Sasuke about fifteen minutes—mainly due to traffic lights in between. He felt apprehension and mildly claustrophobic when the building came into view. It stood higher than the other buildings surrounding it. The columns stood tall in the front and between them was a large set of double doors that led inside. 

Sasuke remembered coming here a few times as a child for one of his father’s benefit dinners. Back then he had been awed by the shear size of it. Now he only felt queasy at the thought of the entire senior class packed into one room. 

Pulling into the parking lot, Sasuke parked his car, put it into gear, and turned off the engine. He could hear Naruto laughing in the back seat and wondered what he had missed.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, Hinata was blushing. Even though he knew it shouldn’t, it annoyed him. Naruto could be charming when he wanted, and it seemed like it was working if the blush on Hinata’s face was any indication. 

Sasuke unlocked the door and stepped out. The night air felt slightly chilly against his face and was a refreshing change from the stuffiness inside the car. He breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly. It would have been nice to be able to stay out in the open for awhile longer, but he didn’t want to be rude to his date. 

Jogging around the car, Sasuke reached the passenger side of the car and opened the door for Hanabi. She put her feet out of the car first and pulled the bottom of her dress together so it would stay closed. When she stood up, Sasuke noted how pretty she looked in her dress. Sometimes he wondered how he could realize that yet feel so clinical about his observation. 

“Thank you.” Hanabi took his hand and stepped out of the car. 

Naruto and Hinata were already halfway up the steps when Sasuke felt a light poke against his side. Turning, he saw Hanabi looking at him curiously. “Does he know?”

“Know what?” Sasuke glanced down at Hanabi and raised an eyebrow. 

“How you feel about him?” Hanabi turned to nod in the direction of Naruto and Hinata. “I saw the way you were looking at him earlier when we left my house.” When Sasuke didn’t say anything she held up her hands. “Don’t worry. I won’t say anything.”

“I appreciate that.” Sasuke didn’t say anymore on it. He wasn’t sure what to say without stirring up more uneasy feelings, mostly on his part. 

The situation felt awkward at best. And he hadn’t really thought it was that obvious. Itachi had already made a few comments here and there, but he expected his brother to notice some things, after all they grew up together. No one knew him better.

Naruto came close, but still, there had always been a part of him that felt reserved that pulled away from the idea of fully confiding in his best friend. There were things Sasuke doubted Naruto would understand. With Itachi he at least didn’t need to worry about that. No matter what, his older brother would always love him.

Hanabi linked her arm around his and walked beside him. Naruto had waited for them and held the door open for everyone. They went through the double doors, and almost immediately the flashy lights and loud music distracted Sasuke. It overtook any conversation Naruto was having with Hinata. He found it annoying that he could no longer keep up with what they were talking about. 

The inside looked like a glitter bomb had gone off. Streamer and balloons—Sasuke couldn’t believe someone actually had the dumb idea to put balloons up for prom—hung down from the ceiling and walls. It looked tacky yet it didn’t surprise him considering Sakura was head of the Prom Committee. She never had what he considered good taste in colors or clothes if her pink hair-dye job was any indication. Still he had better hopes that Ino would have thrown her influence around more. 

Sasuke looked around the room and took it all in. He recognized most of the people standing around. Many were classmates he had never bothered exchanging more than a word here and there—mostly out of necessity for some school project he had to work on. He briefly spotted Shino standing in the corner with a small group of guys gathered around. 

Chouji and Shikamaru were standing near the food, talking with Ino. And Kiba stood nearby them while he talked to some girl from their woodshop class. Sasuke couldn’t remember her name but she had strawberry-blonde hair wore a short black dress with high heels. 

“I’ll get you something to drink.” Sasuke let Hanabi’s arm go and patted her on the shoulder. “Do you want some punch of soda?”

Hanabi briefly scanned the table with the drinks before turning her attention back to him. “I’ll have some punch, please.”

“Sure thing.” Sasuke walked over to the refreshment table and filled a plastic cup with punch for Hanabi. 

After looking at the liquid swirling around in the cup, he thought better of it and decided to get his own as well to make sure it wasn’t spiked already. After taking a sip and swallowing the sickeningly sweet flavor, he deemed it good enough. Other than the cheap fruity flavor, he didn’t taste anything else. Glancing around, he saw that Hanabi had already found a table to put her coat and purse. 

Sasuke went over to Hanabi and handed her the punch. “Here you go.”

“Thank you.” She took the plastic cup and sipped from it. “I notice that most of the people here are seniors.”

“The juniors had their prom last weekend,” Sasuke explained, sitting down next to her. “For whatever reason they decided to split it up this year.”

“A friend on mine told me that last year there were some problems so that’s why they split it up this year,” Hanabi said, brushing her hair away from her face. 

Sasuke shrugged. He didn’t go last year and only went this year because Naruto wouldn’t stop hassling him about how he had to go to prom at least once before they graduated. He vaguely remembered people talking about last year’s prom, but whenever the subject came up, he tuned it out and went to his happy place. It didn’t affect his life in anyway or any of his friends’ lives so he couldn’t find a reason to care about it. 

His line of vision followed Naruto. Hinata stood next to him and smiled politely while they talked to Sakura. Sasuke would have gone over but he really didn’t want to start his night around Sakura. She wasn’t near as crazy as Karin but there were times when it seemed like a fine line between the two. And after that drunken incident where she put her hands down his pants, he couldn’t be bothered with the awkwardness that would most likely ensue. 

Sasuke turned away and looked around. The DJ had set up towards the back of the room, near the stage. Even though music had already started playing, the dance floor was empty right now so he forwent the idea of asking Hanabi to dance. Already Sasuke was bored out of his mind, but at least Naruto seemed like he was having fun. 

Hanabi excused herself and headed towards a group of girls that were standing near the DJ. Sasuke stood up, pushed in his chair, and decided to mingle for a bit. Kiba and Chouji were still near the snack table, talking to each other. He veered to his right and headed there, unable to figure out where that girl Kiba was talking to earlier had wondered off to. 

By the time he walked over, Kiba had already engaged everyone else into a story about a party he threw at his house last weekend. While Chouji listened intently, Shikamaru looked bored with it all. Sasuke really couldn’t blame him. Kiba always blabbered on about his parties. After awhile, it got old hearing the same thing, and Sasuke was pretty sure he could mime-quote what would come next if he had it in him to care more. 

“Hey, Sasuke.” Chouji smiled and patted him on the back while Shikamaru gave the usual nod of acknowledgement. 

“Hello.” Sasuke gave them all a quick nod of his head. “Prom seems pretty low-key right now.”

Chouji looked around and shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m sure it’ll pick up soon.”

“Where’s Karin?” Kiba asked while chewing on a carrot stick. 

“She’s ill,” Sasuke simply stated. 

“I bet you’re really sorry about that one.” Kiba slapped his knee and laughed. A bit of carrot sprayed out of his mouth and landed on his tux. “The look on your face when Naruto first begged you to bring her... fucking priceless. I never thought you’d agree to that one.”

“Yeah,” Sasuke turned his head away from the mess Kiba had made on his tux. “I’m really busted up about it.”

“What mean things are you sayin about my cousin again?” Naruto walked up beside Sasuke and lightly punched his shoulder. 

“I was only explaining about what a shame it is she couldn’t come tonight,” Sasuke simply replied. 

“You never say that like you mean it.” Naruto suspiciously narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. “Don’t try to play it off like you’re not being an ass.”

Kiba swung his arm around Naruto’s shoulder and squeezed. “If you want someone to lie to you then you gotta either be willing to accept what they say or deal with the truth. That’s how it goes.”

Sasuke raised and eyebrow at that. Kiba only got philosophical when he was high. “You guys started early tonight.”

“There’s no such thing as early, especially when it’s prom.” Kiba shot Sasuke a toothy grin. “It’s all part of the grand plan.”

“Is that so?” Sasuke replied. “What grand plan is that?”

“Nothing other than making prom as fun as possible.” Kiba squeezed Naruto closer before ruffling his hair. “I did this sober last year and wanted to see what it’d be like from a different perspective.”

“Ah, I see.” Sasuke watched Naruto wiggle out of Kiba’s grasp and grab a chip from the bowl on the table. “You really should put them on a plate.”

“Eh, it’s fine.” Naruto shoved the chip into his mouth. “It’s not like I’m fingering all of them.”

“Kiba was right, though,” Chouji chimed in. He picked up a couple chips off his plate and stuffed them into his mouth. “It really helps make this food taste good.”

Glancing over at the snack table, Sasuke grimaced at all the gross looking food on there. The budget for prom obviously fell short of their goal. It wasn’t even the myriad of chips, meat, cheese, and veggies smattered along it, but the quality all looked terrible. The veggie tray didn’t seem un-edible, but the meat and cheese tray looked gross and like it hadn’t been kept cold in a while. The punch hadn’t tasted very good either. Like someone had bought cheap Hawaiian Punch and called it good enough. 

Sasuke had suggested they go out for dinner, but Hinata had ballet practice until five. Still, he felt grateful that his mom insisted on feeding them. Now he wouldn’t be tempted to try any of the food out. 

“All of it looks disgusting.” Sasuke turned away from the snacks and drew his attention back to Naruto. “I think I’ll take a pass on it for the night.”

“Eh, it’s not that bad.” Naruto crammed a few carrots down. “I’ve had worse before. And hey, it’s free food.”

“You’ll eat anything.” Sasuke had seen Naruto ingest things that should have been illegal to put in his mouth on the simple principle that anyone around would want to vomit from watching. 

“That’s not true.” Naruto licked the ranch dressing off his fingers. “Just not a picky bastard like you.”

“I’m not picky. It’s called having taste buds.” Sasuke sniffed and turned his head away from Naruto. “And I hope you plan to wash your hands before touching anything.”

“Oh, is that what you call it?” Naruto resisted the urge to reach out and touch Sasuke’s arm just because he knew it would bother him. “I always thought you were being a fussy about it.”

“It’s not fussy when something clearly tastes like garbage,” Sasuke argued. “I don’t care if it’s free food. It’s pointless to eat it just for the sake of eating it.”

“Whatever.” Naruto picked up another chip and ate it. “You can go on with your bad self and be as picky as you want. The rest of us will enjoy the snacks for you.”

“You… go do that.” Sasuke looked over at his table and noticed that Hanabi was sitting alone. He had had enough with this conversation anyway. Pointing his finger in that direction, he nodded. “I’m going to keep her company while you eat your free food and talk about shit I could care less about.” 

Sasuke ignored the indignant sound that came from Naruto and walked away from the group to see how Hanabi was doing. His attempt to socialize hadn’t lasted long. But there were days when he felt all too eager to get away from Naruto for a bit and have his own space only to find himself needing to come back for more. He reminded himself that it was for the best if he kept their interaction tonight to small, manageable doses. 

~*~

The clock read almost half past seven. They had been here for about an hour and a half, and he had already had one slow dance with Hanabi only to have Naruto cut in to switch partners. When the song had ended the girls went off to talk to their friends, leaving him and Naruto behind. Now Sasuke sat at his table alone and enjoyed the momentary quiet. 

Naruto had slunk off somewhere and disappeared, and Hanabi seemed content to hang out with her sister near the stage. He really saw no reason to go over there and bother her or find out what Naruto was up to. 

Sasuke leaned against the table and took it all in. None of the last few songs were ones he liked enough to dance to. They were too fast. The DJ seemed to be obsessed with playing terrible pop music almost the entire night. 

And whenever he went to find someone to talk to, Sakura kept eying him up like she planned to make her move at any time. So he kept pretending like he didn’t notice. Not that he couldn’t handle Sakura. Since that incident she seemed more than happy to somewhat avoid any conversation with him, but still, he didn’t want his already, semi-boring night to turn into a full-blown annoyance for him. 

Kiba was back at the snack table with Shino and Chouji. Sasuke had lost interest in trying to keep up or guess what the conversation entailed. Probably a dating story since he got his party story out of the way earlier. 

Picking up his drink, he took a sip of it and looked around the room to see if anything interesting was going on. A loud clank caught his attention, and Sasuke sharply turned his head to the right when he heard Kiba yelp. His eyes widened a little at what was happening. 

It was like watching the biggest fail in slow motion. Kiba’s arms flailed a couple times, and his legs gave out from underneath him. When he hit the snack table, a punch bowl, filled with a Jell-O and whipped cream desert, wobbled a few times and then crashed to the floor. White and green goop sprayed across the floor and over Kiba’s shoes. 

Kiba’s elbow then caught the table cloth and pulled it along with him. His legs buckled again when he tried to get up, tugging the table cloth even harder. The veggie and cheese trays came down on top of his head with a harsh smack from each before they both hit the floor with a loud clang. Sasuke could hear a few snickers behind him before laughter broke out around the room. Kiba grinned and rubbed his head. 

Karma was a bitch tonight. Sasuke’s personal bitch. Despite Kiba passing it off nonchalantly, he knew that had to have hurt. There was no way he wouldn’t have a rather large lump on his head by tonight. 

Sasuke noticed a blur of blond hair out of the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to see Naruto rush forward, in a fit of laughter, and pull Kiba up. 

“You okay?” Naruto brushed a carrot and a piece of broccoli out of Kiba’s hair. “Holy shit, that was… insane. What the hell, dude. What happened? Seriously, the teachers are gonna be so pissed off at you.”

“Feh, it was an accident. They’ll get over it.” Kiba brushed off his slacks the best he could and steadied himself out. He looked around before bowing to the small crowd gathering around. 

“Yeah, but you made a huge mess.” Naruto bent over and rested his hands on his knees. Once Naruto started giggling, he couldn’t stop. “Goddamn, I don’t even know what to say to this. You’re in so much trouble that is shouldn’t even be funny.”

Sasuke went over to get a closer look and keep an eye on Naruto. Pieces of cheese and meat slid down Kiba’s tux and onto the floor as he finished brushing himself off. When he went to walk away, he slipped on a pile of pickles and fell back on his butt with a loud thunk. 

Naruto moved forward to help Kiba up again, but Sasuke grabbed him by the arm and shook his head. “Don’t.” 

He nodded towards the DJ. Iruka was already making his way over. Naruto batted his hand away but didn’t move. “Fuck, he needs help, though.”

“What are you doing?” Iruka put his hands on his hips and stared Kiba down. 

Sasuke took a step back and pulled Naruto with him. When Iruka got mad, it was best to stay out of his way. For now, they were better off staying out of it. 

“Sorry.” Kiba rubbed his side and cracked a nervous smile at Iruka. “I slipped and accidentally fell into the table.”

“You’ve been staggering around all night. I’ve had enough watching you make a ruckus.” Iruka pulled Kiba up into a standing position. “Earlier, you knocked over a couple trashcans out in the lobby.”

“I,” Kiba frowned and glanced around the room, “Ah,” He held his index finger up. “I’ve been having trouble with my one leg so that’s why I’m having a hard time walking straight.”

“Right.” Iruka, in Sasuke’s opinion didn’t look like he believed Kiba at all. He shrewdly looked Kiba over again. “I think you need to go home then and rest that leg if it’s bothering you so badly.”

Before Kiba could protest of defend himself further, Iruka took him by the arm and led him out of the ballroom. Sasuke followed the scene with his eyes, knowing that most likely Kiba would either be asked to leave or kicked out. Which meant Naruto would probably want to butt in. 

As they left, Sasuke heard Iruka raise his voice and jab of his finger at Kiba while lecturing him. It reminded Sasuke of a security guard that worked at his father’s firm. When he was little, he once saw the guard give one of the new paralegals a dressing down for forgetting his identification badge. He had also jabbed his finger in the paralegal’s face like that.

“I’ll be right back.” Naruto pulled away from Sasuke and jogged towards the door. He turned around for a second to look at Sasuke. “I’m gonna go make sure he’s okay, and maybe see if I can get Iruka to calm down.”

“Good luck with that,” Sasuke called back as he watched Naruto slip through the door and go into the lobby. 

There was no point in trying to stop him. Once Naruto got something in his head, he wouldn’t stop until he could do what he wanted. So, he’d wait until Naruto got whatever he needed to do out of his system. 

Sasuke put his hand down on the table and leaned against. After a few minutes had passed, the double doors that led to the lobby opened up and Naruto came back through. Sasuke thought that he looked a little down or pissed. Sometimes it was hard to tell. Naruto looked around the room once, then spotted him, and walked towards him. 

“Hey, I need to help get Kiba out of here, but I’ll be back.” Naruto pulled Sasuke aside. “He’s sitting out in the lobby right now, and Iruka seemed to think it’d be a good idea for someone to help him out.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I’m only going to take him out to his car. I guess his sister is going to pick him up.”

“Maybe you should take his car keys just in case,” Sasuke suggested. He didn’t trust Kiba to not get in the car and drive home. “That way he’ll have to wait for his ride.”

Naruto quirked his mouth upwards and waved off the suggestion. “No, no, it’ll be fine. He said he’d wait. I made him promise me he would.” 

“Right because Kiba always does what he says he’ll do.” Sasuke honestly didn’t care what Kiba did, but he did care if he had to hear Naruto bitch about it all night. He pushed Naruto forward. “So take him out to his car already.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m goin. Stay outta trouble while I’m gone.” Naruto patted his shoulder. 

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Apparently, Naruto thought he was a comedian tonight. “Whatever. Don’t be surprised if one day you hear about how Kiba didn’t do what he was supposed to and wraps his car around a tree.”

“That’s not going to worry me. He’ll be fine. He always is.” Naruto grinned and headed back out, leaving Sasuke standing there alone once again.


	2. Part Two

“I can’t hear you over the music.” Naruto held his hand up to his head and leaned in closer, practically shouting in Sasuke’s ear. 

“I said, when do you want to leave?” Sasuke raised his voice, hoping this time Naruto would hear him and that he wouldn’t have to repeat himself for a third time. “Don’t you think we’ve been here long enough? It’s already eight thirty.”

“Are you kidding me?” Naruto moved his body back and forth to the beat of the song. He snapped his fingers, spun around on the balls of his feet once, and flashed Sasuke a grin. “You only want to be here for two hours then cut out? Don’t be like that. And stop keeping track of the time. You’ll have more fun that way.”

“I highly doubt I’ll have more fun if I don’t check the time.” Sasuke moved closer until their noses almost touched. 

“Sure you will,” Naruto yelled and Sasuke winced. “It makes sense. You’ll lose yourself in the fun then before you know it, the night will be over.”

“I think that only works if you’re having fun to begin with.” Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s arm to stop him from moving around so much. He was about to pull Naruto towards the exit so they could hear each other better without yelling when someone bumped into him hard and made him smack into Naruto’s shoulder. 

Sasuke turned around, ready to tell whoever bumped into him to watch themselves when a fist came inches away from his face. He stepped back and stumbled into Naruto’s chest. Warm hands wrapped around his waist to steady him out. Sasuke shook off his vertigo. Once he got his bearings back, he moved away from Naruto. 

Two students had started fighting, and they were way too close for comfort. It wouldn’t take much for them to bump into him or Naruto again or the hit either one of them. Pushing Naruto off to the left, he moved them out of the way just in time to avoid being pulled into it. 

The brown-haired kid, who had bumped into him, flew backwards before righting himself and returning the punch. Already, he had a bloody nose and Sasuke could tell by tomorrow, he would have a black eye. The other guy didn’t look much better with a split lip and bruised jaw. His sweaty red hair had matted to the sides of his face, and his cheeks puffed out in anger. Both their tuxes were torn and wrinkled. Everything had been so loud that Sasuke had no idea when the fight had started or what caused it. His attention had exclusively been on Naruto until now.

Two girls standing near the guys were yelling for them to stop. They both had chestnut brown hair, only the one in the light blue dress had freckles peppering her face. The other one had nothing notable about her for his eyes to linger very long. Sasuke vaguely recognized them from seeing French Club throw different events throughout the school year but had no idea what their names were. 

The girl without the freckles stepped forward to get between the guys only to narrowly miss getting punched in the shoulder. Her ivory gown tore at the bottom when she hastily moved away and stepped on it with her pumps. Sasuke covered his ears when she let out a loud shriek over the ruined gown. 

Her friend pulled her away, and before they turned their backs to him to walk away, Sasuke saw tears streaming down her face. When he turned to Naruto, Sasuke noticed he wasn’t even paying attention to them but rather watching the fight as the two boys exchanged blows. 

The two rolled around on the floor, knocking over a small wastebasket near the drinks. Sasuke stepped out of the way when a leg came close to hitting his foot. He got a closer look at their faces and realized didn’t even recognize the guys fighting. They looked too young to be there, and most likely had scored dates with a couple of seniors. 

Sasuke back up and completely moved out of their way. He bumped into the one of the chairs next to his table and knocked it over. The fight was getting out of control, and he considered ending it himself. Naruto would probably help him too. It wouldn’t take much for either of them to subdue the assholes. It would probably get him suspended and in trouble with is parents, but he couldn’t muster the will to care about that when the two guys were so close to accidentally hitting anyone within a couple feet of them. 

Asuma bellowed for everyone to move out of the way and then pushed through the crowd that had gathered. Students immediately gave him a wide berth. He assessed the situation quickly, picked up one of the boys, and set him down off to the side. Iruka had been close behind Asuma. He took the other kid by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away. People started moving away once the fight had been broken up. 

After the teachers shuffled the two kids away from each other and out of ballroom, music started to play again. The students that had watched went back to chatting or dancing with each other. It was almost like the past few minutes had never happened. 

Naruto looked at him with wide eyes and then started laughing. “Oh, man, can you believe that shit? It sucks that Kiba missed it. This night is crazy!”

“This night is full of drama.” Sasuke stooped down and picked up the chair he had knocked over. “Too many people getting in each other’s faces. It’s also too loud.”

“Aww, c’mon.” Naruto patted him on the back. “It’s not that bad.”

Sasuke rubbed the side of his head. “It’s not too bad until my head feels like it’s going to split open.”

“Here, sit down.” Naruto looked Sasuke over and frowned. He turned Sasuke towards the chair at the table and pulled it out. “I think the school nurse set up a little booth where you can get some aspirin or Tylenol.” He pointed towards a small back area behind the DJ. “You just go back there and down the hallway a little and you’ll see her little tent set up.”

“It won’t help unless there are no more loud noises, which won’t happen any time soon.” Sasuke sat down in the chair and massaged his temple. 

The pain wasn’t unbearable but enough to ruin his already foul mood. Sasuke was used to getting them by now and knew he needed to be able to defuse his mind for awhile. It often started small and then would spread from his temples across the front of his head, down to the sides. It felt like tightening pressure on his forehead. The fight had been the last thing to set it off. 

“Well,” Naruto sat down next to him. He looked worried about Sasuke. “Let me get you some anyway. It can’t hurt, right?”

“If you really want to then I’m not going to talk you out of it.” Sasuke looked up and winced at the bright lighting above him. “Make sure you get me a few, though. Two isn’t going to cut it.”

“Sure, I’ll just tell her we both need some.” Naruto jumped up from his seat like he had springs in his legs and jogged away, leaving Sasuke alone. 

Sasuke kept rubbing his head. He had no idea where their dates were at, but at least they hadn’t been with them and near the fight. That was one discussion he did not want to have with the Hyuugas if either of them had been accidentally hurt. Or his parents for that matter. His dad had sat him down last night and made sure he realized how important it was to make sure Hinata was safely brought to and from prom. 

Really, Naruto should have been the one sat down and talked to since originally only Hinata was going with them. But his parents didn’t have high expectations for Naruto, which really pissed him off sometimes because Naruto _was_ capable of being responsible if needed. Sometimes he only needed to be pushed in that direction or have someone call him out on his immature bullshit. Or at the very least point things out to him that he normally didn’t think of on his own. 

But thinking about it only made his head throb. Sasuke pulled his knees in a bit, leaned his chin in his hand, and waited for Naruto to come back. He kept his eyes focused on the table. While the noise and lights didn’t make his head feel like it was going to explode, he had enough of a sensitivity right now to avoid it if possible. 

Sasuke raised his head when he heard someone walking towards him. Naruto had come back already. And he looked even more worried than before like he wasn’t sure what he’d find once he got back. 

“Here you go.” Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hand and slipped three Advil to him. He also set down a tall plastic cup of water. “Hopefully that’ll make your headache go away. And if it doesn’t get better, let me know and we can leave.”

Sasuke swallowed them and finished the cup of water. “Thanks.” 

Maybe he just needed some fresh air, but he didn’t want to move right now. Naruto bent down and got really close to his face to look him over. It wasn’t often Sasuke got to see this side of Naruto, the part of him that really took in a situation and thought it over. Usually, he had too much energy to slow down enough to take everything in. 

“Maybe this will help.” Naruto pressed his thumbs against Sasuke’s temple and put a little pressure on them. He started moving his thumbs in small circular motion. 

“People are going to look at us weird.” Sasuke closed his eyes though and tilted his head back. It did help somewhat. 

“Yeah, well, fuck em. I don’t care,” Naruto replied as he kept massaging Sasuke’s head. “It’s not like they don’t have anything better to do tonight. If they really gotta worry about what we’re doing then they need to readjust what’s important to them.”

“That’s very chivalrous of you.” Sasuke gently moved Naruto’s hand out of the way. “But, I’m fine now. Just give me about twenty minutes, and it’ll probably go away.”

“Maybe if you went out to the lobby where it’s not so loud, it’d help,” Naruto suggested, leaning in close. 

“No. I don’t really want to move right now.” Sasuke opened his eyes and glanced up at Naruto. “Really, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. Up you go.” Naruto reached under Sasuke’s arms pulled him up from the chair. “C’mon. No sense in having you sit here and be miserable when I can take you somewhere quieter.”

Sasuke let Naruto lead him out of the ballroom, ignoring anyone they passed by. Naruto opened the door to the lobby and shuffled him through. They slowly made their way over towards the front lobby doors. He settled down onto one of the benches near the entrance. Naruto sat down next to him and sighed. 

“Feel free to go back inside.” Sasuke worked on stretching the muscles in his face to help relieve some of pressure he felt. 

“Nah, it’s fine. I mean, migraines don’t go away that fast, do they?” Naruto carefully watched him. “And it’s not like you can help getting them.”

“I don’t get migraines. It’s just a tension headache so it’s manageable.” Sasuke pushed his bangs out of his face and shook his head. “Mom gets them, though, or used to. I don’t think she’s had one in a long time. I remember she would go lie down and turn out all the lights in her bedroom. She’d be in there for hours while Itachi watched me.”

“I had no idea your mom got those.” Naruto planted his hands on the bench and leaned against the back of it. 

“She never got them often, and usually when she did, no one was allowed to come over,” Sasuke explained. “Usually, if we saw each other and she had a migraine, I’d be over at your house or we’d be outside with Itachi.”

“Ah, I guess looking back that explains some things.” Naruto patted Sasuke’s thigh and grinned. “You know sometimes you’re not so bad when you’re not being all crabby.”

Sasuke let out a shaky laugh. “And sometimes you’re not a dumbass like everyone thinks.”

“I hate to say it, but it keeps the expectations low.” Naruto put his hands behind his head and settled back into the seat again. “Let’s just stay here for a bit so you can rest up.”

Sasuke folded his hands in his lap and leaned back so that they were both staring up at the vaulted lobby ceiling. For the first time this evening, Naruto was quiet and he intended on enjoying the comfortable silence between them while it lasted. 

~*~  
The song started out slow. Sasuke vaguely recognized it as one of the songs Naruto often played while driving. He never thought it was bad per se, but he would always prefer classical music to any type of pop. When he heard the words to the song, it clicked. _White Flag_ by Dido if he remembered correctly. It was the first slow one the DJ had bothered to play in the last hour and one of the few he could actually stomach. 

Sasuke glanced over at Hanabi. She was looking around the room and seemed bored. He stood up, pushed in his chair, and held out his hand. “Would you like to dance?”

“Sure. That would be nice.” She smiled and took his hand. 

Sasuke led Hanabi onto the dance floor. At least his date was a nice, sweet girl. That was one thing he felt grateful for. Like her sister, she seemed fairly low key, and did not expect anything else from him. _And_ she had manners. Even if they had only had polite conversation the entire night, he’d take that over someone who did nothing but fawn over him all night. 

Hanabi held onto his shoulders tightly and moved with him. Sasuke could tell she either didn’t have a lot of experience dancing, or she naturally lacked rhythm for it. He had noticed that earlier when they had danced. Either way, he adjusted the pace to compensate for it so that she wouldn’t feel bad about not keeping up. He also ignored the light pressure on his foot, and instead, guided Hanabi so that his feet wouldn’t get in her way. 

“Are you having fun?” Sasuke turned her around once and pulled her back in close. 

“I could ask you the same.” Hanabi’s gaze felt scrutinizing to Sasuke. “You seem like you haven’t been hanging out with Naruto much tonight.”

“If we spent too much time together, he would end up ignoring your sister.” Sasuke moved them backwards and then took a step forward. “And then I would have to give him a hard time about being a terrible date.”

Hanabi laughed. “Well, still. I’m sure you’d like to see him more.”

Sasuke dipped her down as the song ended. “I’ve already seen him enough tonight. If we spend too much time together at once, it can get… intense sometimes. Occasionally unbearable.”

“Maybe someday, he’ll appreciate how much you endure.” She held her hand up to her face and giggled. 

“He knows.” Sasuke smiled back. “At least on some level even if it’s buried deep down in all the cobwebs in his brain.”

Sasuke took Hanabi’s arm and led her off the dance floor and back to where Hinata was shyly listening to Ino explain the difference between a regular kiss and French kissing. From what he could hear, the pointers Ino was dishing out seemed very... detailed. Judging by her grin and Hinata's red face, it was intentional. 

Hanabi waved him off and went to rescue her sister from uncertain amounts of embarrassment. Sasuke left the ladies to their own devises and went looking for Naruto. He pushed around a small group of students that weren't dancing, keeping to the edge of the dance floor. 

Most of the students seemed happy with the round of slower songs that the DJ was now playing, which was fine by Sasuke since his headache had finally started to ebb away. 

“Hey, are you going to dance?” Naruto came up behind Sasuke and poked his back. 

“I have danced. A few times tonight, actually,” Sasuke dryly replied. “You were there for one and stole my date. Besides, I don’t like this song, and Hanabi went to the bathroom with Hinata I think.”

“It’s weird how girls always go the bathroom in groups.” Naruto nudged Sasuke’s shoulder with his own. “What do you think they do in there?”

“Talk about their dates.” Sasuke gave Naruto a strange look before sitting down at one of the tables nearby. “Or their clothes. How they look. Definitely about things you’re not interested in.”

“How do you know that crap?” Naruto scooted into the chair next to Sasuke, and his eyes did that odd thing when one opened up a little wider than the other. “And I am interested in what they’re saying about us.”

“Itachi snuck in the girls’ bathroom in junior high a few times, plus, if you ask them what they do, they’ll tell you.” Sasuke shrugged. “It’s really not that complicated. What do you think they do in there?”

“I don’t know. Something magical and… weird?” Naruto threw his hands up the air. “You know girls. They always do mysterious things and I dunno. I don’t get it.”

“Why do you even care?” Sasuke asked. “It’s not like knowing will help you get a date any better than you do now.”

“Hey, there’s no need to say something like that,” Naruto said in a huff. “Just because I don’t get as many date offers as you, you don’t gotta rub it in.”

Naruto’s naivety was absolutely ludicrous at times. There were some days Sasuke honestly wondered how he got by in life. “Well, considering I don’t really care about those date offers, it hardly counts.”

“Only you would think something like that.” Naruto slowly let out a heavy sigh. “Anyway, I was just curious is all.”

“I can tell you with absolute certainty that all they talk about are clothes, makeup, hair, and boys. Maybe sometimes about their monthly problems.” Sasuke thought a little more on it. “And occasionally plans they’ve made or are going to make. Or about tests and classes. Nothing magical going on in there.”

“Yeah, okay.” Naruto’s shoulders drooped. He somehow appeared deflated over the news. “That’s disappointing as hell.”

Sasuke had no idea what Naruto had hoped happened in the girls bathroom, but he was pretty sure it was something he, himself had zero interest in hearing about. As soon as they started talking about lady things, that would be enough for him. And for Naruto, the kid who couldn’t, even on his best days, match his clothes properly, it probably wouldn’t be very interesting. 

Before he could even throw another juicy detail Naruto's way to mess with him or ask if he had expected to learn the secrets of the universe, Hinata and Hanabi walked up to them and sat down. Sasuke almost laughed when Naruto startled in his seat. If he didn’t think it would have embarrassed Hanabi and Hinata, he would have asked them if their bathroom conversation had been lovely. 

At first no one said anything. They all sat there and looked at each other. Sasuke could ask Hanabi if she wanted another dance, but honestly, he needed a break from it. Socializing for this long in this enclosed of a space had never been something he felt he was good at. Then the loud scraping sound of Naruto’s chair moving caught Sasuke’s attention. 

Naruto scooted his chair over and put his arm around Hinata's shoulder and gave her a flashy smile. “There you are. Wanna dance again?”

“Sure,” Hinata politely nodded. “I'd love to.”

Sasuke turned to Hanabi. “Let me get you something to drink.” 

They both stood up and walked over to the table with the drinks. Almost immediately, he could smell alcohol and eyed the punch bowl up suspiciously. Sasuke avoided the punch and looked at what kind of soda they had. There were only four basic kinds: Generic cola, root beer, orange crush, and Dr. Pepper. Chances were she’d like at least one of them unless Hanabi was one of those rare breeds of people that didn’t like soda. 

“What would you like?” He asked while motioning to the soda.

“Root beer will be fine.” Hanabi gave him a strange look. “Is there something wrong with the punch?”

“I don’t think it’s any good now. It doesn’t smell right.” Sasuke set his plastic cup down and grabbed the root beer. He untwisted the cap, poured a cup for Hanabi, and handed it to her. “This will be better.”

“Did someone spike it?” she asked, taking a sip of her drink.

Sasuke nodded his head. “I think so. It was probably those two guys who were fighting near here earlier. They were lingering near the drinks before that for awhile.”

“I wonder what happened to them?” Hanabi glanced over to where the teachers had taken them. 

“They probably got kicked out.” Sasuke tipped his up to his mouth and looked around the room. His line of sight soon found Naruto. “I can’t see Iruka or Asuma letting them come back after all the commotion they caused.”

Naruto was in the middle of the dance floor, trying something that looked like bad break dancing. His legs and arms were positioned wrong, and he looked one step away from collapsing on the floor. Each time he looked like he would go completely down, his legs did a weird popping thing that would spring him back up. 

Sasuke reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He snapped a few pictures. Chuckling, he put his phone away. A part of him felt mean for laughing, but it provided Sasuke with some entertainment, and something he could tease Naruto about later on. 

He turned his head around and saw that Hanabi was laughing and watching Naruto moved around the dance floor while her sister tried to keep up. Sasuke had never seen Naruto move so fast before. 

Hanabi's cup tipped and a little root-beer spilled on her dress. Sasuke held onto her arm, grabbed a napkin, and went to dab it away. “It's fine,” she said. “I think I'll need to use water to get it out.”

“Okay.” Sasuke let go of her arm so she could clean up. 

“Hey, you look like you’re having the time of your life.” Shikamaru walked up to Sasuke’s right. He tipped his drink to his lips and took a long swallow. “At least the punch has a kick to it.”

“I’m surprised none of the teachers figured it out by now.” Sasuke had stopped with the punch after the first time he tried it and hadn’t yet tasted it now that there was alcohol in it. “Did it make it taste better at least?”

“Maybe a little.” Shikamaru shrugged. “I think they’re more worried about whether or not their contracts will be renewed next year.” His eyes did a sweep of the room before turning back to Sasuke. “And they probably don’t want any more fights here either. Sometimes it’s better to pretend not to know any better.”

“I think students drinking spiked punch will probably lead to more stupidity, but that’s just me,” Sasuke replied. “The cleanup for tonight will be nasty to deal with.”

“Hey, what are your plans for after prom?” Shikamaru asked, changing the subject.

“Nothing so far. Naruto invited me to Kiba’s, but I don’t want to go.” Sasuke tapped his fingers off the table behind him. “Do you have something planned?”

“Yeah. A few of us are going to get together and hang out at my place,” Shikamaru answered. “Nothing big. You’re more than welcome to join us if you’d like.”

“Maybe.” Sasuke wasn’t sure if he wanted to go back home and hang out with his parents for the rest of the night. “If I decide to come, can I just show up?”

Shikamaru nodded his head. “Sure. My parents are out of town for a couple days so you can stop by anytime.” 

“Alright. I’ll probably come by after I drop Naruto unless he decides to come with me, then we’ll just head over after we leave here.” Sasuke smoothed out the front of his tux. “Are you leaving soon?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Shikamaru shrugged. “Chouji’s ready to go and so am I. All this drama is a real drag and bringing down his mood.”

“Well, I’ll see you later then.” Sasuke waved and walked off to check on Hanabi and see if she had managed to get her dress clean. 

He was actually looking forward to hanging out at Shikamaru’s later. It would give him the excuse to stay out instead of going home. While he couldn’t say prom had been fun, the night had been eventful enough. 

Both Hinata and Hanabi were standing near a table closer to the middle of the room with Naruto, laughing at something he had said. Pretty soon, he’d have to tell Naruto that it was time to leave. But for now, he’d let them enjoy themselves for awhile longer. Naruto spotted him and motioned him over. By the time he reached them, whatever story Naruto had been telling the girls was over. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Naruto asked.

“Nothing. Saying goodbye to Shikamaru.” Sasuke glanced over at Hanabi’s dress and noticed that she had managed to get the root beer out of it and had dried it off in the bathroom.  
“Oh, I didn’t realize he left.” Naruto groused. “Would’ve liked to say goodbye to him.”

“I’m sure you’ll see him on Monday,” Hinata timidly added. 

“Yeah, sure.” Naruto stuck his hands on his pockets and shrugged. “A lot of people have taken off already.”

“It is getting late,” Hanabi pointed out. 

Movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Glancing towards the drink table, Sasuke saw a kid hanging out there, looking around like he wanted to make sure no one was looking at him. 

Sasuke kept an eye on what that kid was doing. He looked over towards the stage and saw Iruka coming their way. Apparently, he had been wrong about the other two guys putting alcohol in the punch. He could see Iruka saying something to the kid before pulling him off to the side. If he was the one spiking the punch, then next week there was going to be a few kids missing from school. He really wasn’t looking forward to having Health class on Monday. Iruka would be in the foulest of moods. 

Turning back to the group, he noticed that Naruto had been watching too. He cleared his throat and looked at Hinata and Hanabi. “Can I get you ladies another drink? Or did you need something else?” 

“Jeez, what the hell is with everyone tonight?” Naruto interrupted. He looked over his shoulder as the kid was drug away. “I’ve never seen this many people get into trouble in one night.”

“Apparently, you have a short memory.” Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the side. “We had a lot more to deal with last summer when you invited some people over to my house and my mom and dad almost caught us.”

“Almost is the key word here, Sasuke.” Naruto shot him a sour look. “I can’t believe you’re still mad about that. That was like, forever ago.”

“Not even quite a year,” Sasuke countered. “And my parents never leave now when you crash at my house. Because of you, they’re always around, watching everything we do. It’s annoying.”

“Yeah, okay. So I made your parents paranoid.” Naruto put his arm around Sasuke’s shoulder and sighed dramatically. “That just means they care about you, right?”

“Whatever.” Sasuke turned back to the girls. “Did either of you need anything?”

When they both shook their heads and said no. Sasuke stood up and pushed in his chair. He had left Hanabi and Hinata with Naruto and decided to get some fresh air. He had only just sat down, and already, Naruto had gotten under his skin. He needed to leave, soon.

Even if Naruto wanted to stay, maybe he could find a ride home with someone else. Of course, Naruto could find a ride. There were plenty of people inside who would be willing to help out. And Hinata had some decent friends as well. He was sure Hanabi would be okay staying with them, though he would offer to take her home since he brought her. But somehow he had a feeling he’d end up waiting for all of them to be ready to leave. 

The air outside felt good. Sasuke closed his eyes and deeply breathed in. For late spring, it still felt surprising cool at night. Although, compared to the heat inside, he welcomed the chance to cool down and have some peace and quiet. 

He couldn’t wait to graduate and leave this town behind. Sasuke wanted to see and do so many things he’d never be able to if he stayed here. Itachi had the right idea. Pick a college far away and only visit during the holidays. 

Sasuke heard the door open but didn’t bother to see who it was. He recognized Naruto’s smell immediately. So he waited for Naruto to say something first. 

Naruto leaned against the side of the Hotel. “Hey, whatcha doin out here?”

“Getting some fresh air.” Inside had felt awfully stifling to him. “I don’t know how you can stay in there for much longer.”

“Eh, I don’t know.” Naruto shrugged indifferently. “It’s not so bad. Sure some people are being stupid, but isn’t that how it always goes?”

“Some people seem to perpetually live stupidity,” Sasuke coolly replied. “Regardless, I’m ready to leave.”

“Alright, fine.” Even though Naruto said that, he didn’t seem too happy about it. “I’ll go wrangle up the girls.”

“You could always catch a ride with someone else if you’d like,” Sasuke suggested. “I’ll take Hanabi home of course.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Dunno if their parents would be cool with bringing them home separately.” Naruto pushed away from the wall. “Besides, Kiba’s probably already started his party so maybe I’ll do that.”

“Just let me know where I’m taking you before I drop you off.” Sasuke cracked one eye open and looked over at Naruto.

“Oh, if I do go, I’m gonna take my car so just take me back to your house,” Naruto replied. “We’ll take Hinata and Hanabi home then you can drop me off unless you wanna come.”

“Doesn’t matter to me. Either way.” Sasuke turned his head towards Naruto, who was looking at him grinning. 

“You know what would be awesome?” Naruto asked with a little too much enthusiasm. 

“I’m sure you’ll tell me.” Sasuke scooted a few inches away from Naruto. He looked like a cat ready to pounce. 

“It would be awesome if you cheered up a little and smiled.” Naruto moved in closer until their faces were mere inches apart. 

Naruto took Sasuke’s face in his hand and then moved his cheeks around, stretching his face into a fake grin. “Oh, man, this looks really creepy.”

Batting Naruto’s hand away, Sasuke rubbed his face once. “Don’t be an idiot, Naruto.”

“Just trying to cheer you up.” Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly. “It never works the way I want it to, though.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything to that. He really didn’t see the point in Naruto trying to put him in a better. It would only annoy him even more. “We should go back inside. It’s rude to ignore our dates.” 

“Oh, don’t worry about them. They’re fine in there. Hinata wanted to make some plans with her friends for graduation.” Naruto moved back to where he was a few moments ago, giving Sasuke some space between them. “I think they need some of that girl time, you know.”

“Sure. Graduation plans are important to a lot of people.” Sasuke’s parents already had his mapped out for him. He found out when his mother told him they were having a family get-together for it.

“I guess so.” Naruto sighed and then shrugged. “My parents keep asking me what I want to do, and I have no idea.”

“Stick with something small and manageable,” Sasuke suggested. “And if you decide you want something bigger, you can invite more people.”

“But that sounds boring and responsible.” Naruto glanced over at Sasuke and smiled. “What’re you doing for it?”

“My parents already planned a family thing,” Sasuke answered. “Itachi will be home for it too.”

“Am I going?” Naruto asked. 

“Of course you are.” Sasuke patted Naruto on the back. You think I’d suffer through something like that without making you come along?”

“Eh, I don’t know. You might not let me come over if you think I’d be too much for some of your ancient relatives to handle.” Naruto laughed. 

“Maybe that will keep them from visiting too often,” Sasuke dryly replied. 

“Oh, you’re on a roll tonight.” Naruto leaned back and closed his eyes. “Are you planning on going to college right away?”

“Yes. My father wouldn’t leave me alone about applying last year so I’ve already been accepted and contacted the university.” Sasuke looked up at the moon and sighed. “I didn’t say anything to anyone because I wasn’t sure how I felt about it yet.”

Naruto opened his eyes and turned to look at Sasuke. “Yeah, last time we talked about it, you had wanted to travel for a year before going to college.”

“Dad thinks I should get school out of the way first and mom agrees with him,” Sasuke explained. He pushed away from the wall, opened the door, and walked inside with Naruto next to him. “I can see their point. Once I’m done, it’ll be out of the way, but then I think I’ll probably be expected to get a job.”

“Sure, but you’ll also be out on your own, and they won’t be paying your way so you’ll be able to do whatever you want,” Naruto turned around to make sure the door was closed. “Not saying you have to, but if you want to travel around and see the world then you should go do that.”

They stood inside the lobby for a moment. Sasuke tugged on Naruto’s tux and headed back towards the ballroom. “Itachi said the same thing to me last time he visited. He spent two hours trying to convince my parents to let me travel first, but,” Sasuke shrugged. “I didn’t want to see them fight over it so I just agreed to it.”

“Damn, that sucks, though.” Naruto put his hands into his pants pocket as Sasuke held the door open for him. “I still need to figure out what I’m gonna do. Probably gonna apply and go right away too.”

“That’s up to you. If your parents aren’t bothering you about it, then do whatever you want.” Sasuke looked around the room and finally spotted the girls. “I’m going to see if Hanabi wants to dance one last time before we leave.”

“Okay.” Naruto stopped and stood beside Sasuke. “Maybe I’ll ask Hinata or I don’t know. We’ve already danced a bunch of times tonight.”

“You should ask her for a last dance.” Sasuke pushed Naruto forward, towards the general direction where Hinata was standing. “She’s over there and looks bored.”

“Alright, don't be so... pushy about it.” Naruto shot Sasuke a glare. “Damn, you're mister manners tonight. What the hell?”

“Don't be so loud, dumbass,” Sasuke said as they walked up to their dates. “And this is a special night for them. Manners are important for these occasions. You don’t want anyone thinking you’re a heathen do you?”

“No, but…” Naruto stopped talking suddenly when Hinata turned around. He gave her a flashy grin and pulled her out to the dance floor. 

Sasuke offered his hand to Hanabi. “Would you like to dance once more before we leave?” 

“Sure.” She took his hand, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. “Are you both ready to leave after this?”

“Yeah, this will be the last dance.” Sasuke took the lead again, noticing that each time they danced, Hanabi got better at it. 

She was a fast learner, and this time managed to keep up with him without any trouble. Hanabi was also much more relaxed and at ease with herself. Once they settled into a somewhat smooth rhythm, he pulled her closer, leaned his head on her shoulder, and watched Naruto dance. 

~*~  
By the time Sasuke managed to find Naruto again, quite a few people had already left. Somewhere between their last dance and walking Hanabi back over to get her clutch, Naruto had disappeared. At first Sasuke had thought he was probably making his rounds to say goodbye, but there was no sign of him in the ballroom. 

The ballroom had become too hot from all the people packed inside of it for hours. Some of the other students had long shed their tux jackets and ties in order to cool down. There were still some classmates dancing, but overall, everyone had begun filing out. Hanabi had been with him the rest of the time, making small chat. It was about a twenty till ten now, and he needed to get both of the girls home so their parents didn't worry. 

Finally, Sasuke spotted bright blond hair among a small group of students. Pushing his way across the dance floor, he found Naruto and Hinata situated in the far corner of the room, talking with Ino and Sakura. 

“I think I see them.” Sasuke pointed them out to Hanabi. “Let’s go get them so we can leave.”

“Okay.” Hanabi grabbed her purse, stood up and let Sasuke lead them across the room. 

He and tapped Naruto on the back. “We have to go. It's getting late.” Sasuke nodded towards the clock on the wall. “It's going on ten.”

“Oh, shit, yeah. Sorry, totally lost track of time.” Naruto turned to Ino and Sakura. “Nice talking you two here. I have to take this young lady home.” He squeezed Hinata's shoulder, causing her to blush. “See you both in school next week.”

After they said their goodbyes, Sasuke led Hanabi out into the lobby and then outside. Naruto and Hinata walked a ways behind them, talking too low for him to hear. Sasuke ignored the urge to slow down so he could eavesdrop and headed towards the parking lot. The night air felt good against his face, and the moon had moved higher in the sky, casting enough light across the walkway for them to clearly see where his car was parked. 

Sasuke pulled his car keys from his pocket and clicked the tab to unlock the doors. He opened the passenger side door and helped Hanabi get in so that she didn’t snag the bottom of her dress on the edge of the car. 

After Naruto and Hinata opened the back doors and slid into their seats, he got into the driver’s side and put his keys in the ignition. When everyone was in the car and buckled in, Sasuke started it and pulled out onto the road. The drive back to the Hyuuga's felt a lot quicker than the way to prom. Hanabi sat quietly in the front next to him while Naruto and Hinata softly talked about prom and how much fun they had. Sasuke focused on driving, turned at the light, and headed out of town.

Once again, Sasuke pulled into the Hyuuga’s drive. They were five minutes early for the curfew. If it had been up to Naruto they would have been late. He turned off the engine and got out of the car. Sasuke walked around the side and opened the door for Hanabi. She stepped out and took his arm. 

Sasuke waited for Naruto and Hinata to get out of the car. This time he allowed Naruto and Hinata to walk in front of them. When they reached the door and rang the bell, it didn’t take long for Mrs. Hyuuga to open the door, still dressed the same as earlier. 

She smiled at all them. Her eyes settled on both Sasuke and Naruto for a moment. “Hello.” They all said hi in unison. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes, it was nice. Very eventful and the hotel they rented was really pretty inside.” Hanabi waited for a second to see if her mother would say anything and then turned to Sasuke and gave him a curtsy. “Thank you for taking me. I had a lot of fun.”

“My pleasure.” Sasuke politely bowed and gave her a smile. 

“I had fun too,” Hinata told Naruto. 

“Yeah, we should do this again sometime.” Naruto took her hand and gave it a quick kiss. 

Sasuke turned away and almost rolled his eyes. Naruto could be so charming and yet unaware he was leading the poor girl on. For him, this was a fun night with his friends, but Sasuke knew that Hinata felt differently. After Naruto gave Hinata a tight hug and the girls went inside, they walked back to Sasuke’s car and got in. Naruto put his seatbelt on and glanced over at Sasuke. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.” Sasuke started the car and pulled out. “Are you going home?”

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Naruto buckled his seatbelt and glanced up at Sasuke. “You?”

“I think I might go over to Shikamaru’s for awhile.” Sasuke buckled himself in and started the car. “I could go home, but my parents are probably back from dinner by now.” 

“You don’t want to go to Kiba’s party?” Naruto asked, giving Sasuke a slightly scandalized look. 

“Naruto, Kiba is a dumbass.” Sasuke backed up the car and pulled out onto the road. “He’ll be lucky if the cops aren’t called to his house.”

“It’ll be more fun, though.” Naruto flashed him a grin. “He’ll probably have beer and a lot of the girls are going.” 

“How much fun will it be if the cops show up? Your mom and dad will kill you if you get caught. And more people packed into a small house doesn’t equal more fun.” Sasuke * “I think I’ve had enough of loud idiots for the night.”

“You’re still hanging out with me.” Naruto flashed him a grin. “I’m loud and you like to think I’m an idiot.” 

“You don’t count.” Sasuke reached over and flicked Naruto in the side. 

“Hey, that was rude.” Naruto batted his hand away. But despite how put out he pretended to be, he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Jeez, you always come around so I should count for something. Or are you that masochistic that you can’t resist tormenting yourself?”

“Sometimes I do wonder.” Sasuke took his hand off the gearshift. “You know what I mean, though so don’t pretend like you’re dumb about it.” He put his hand back on the wheel and checked his rearview mirror. “I’m used to how you are. And besides, I never said you were a complete idiot. I may have called you a partial one once or twice.”

“How bout all the time.” Naruto folded his arms across his chest. “That’s like… your mantra or some shit. Don’t be an idiot, Naruto.” He deepened his voice to try and match Sasuke’s.

“You’re just,” he couldn’t stop the slight smirk from creeping on his face. “Intellectually challenged sometimes.”

“Well, I’d rather be an idiot than an asshole.” Naruto folded his arms across his chest and glared out the window. 

“You’re ridiculously sensitive tonight.” Sasuke gripped the steering wheel tighter. “You could always hand out with me. Why do I always have to go where you want to go?”

“Because, I don’t know… because you don’t socialize with that many people.” Naruto’s voice dropped and sounded almost… wounded.

“Naruto, I’m not a child or a pet. I don’t need socialized.” Sasuke couldn’t stop himself from snapping a little. “I can do fine on my own with that.”

Naruto mumbled something he didn’t quite catch, and Sasuke almost asked him to repeat it but let it go. He didn’t want to fight or argue right now. So he drove and the rest of the way to his house neither of them said anything more about it. 

Sasuke pulled up to his house and parked the car. “Are you coming with me or going to Kiba’s?”

“I think I’m gonna go to Kiba’s. I already told him I would.” Naruto unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door. “Besides, I gotta return his car keys to him.”

“You took them?” Sasuke asked, mildly surprised that Naruto had taken his advice. “I thought you were going to leave it be.”

“I was, but then, I don’t know.” Naruto looked out the window and then shrugged. “You made a good point. Kiba usually doesn’t do what he says he’ll do, especially if he’s high. I don’t know if it’s because he forgets or if he just doesn’t care.”

“He’s lucky to have someone like you watching his back.” Sasuke let his hand slip off the steering wheel and into his lap. “Most of his friends would have encouraged him.”

“Well, it’s not like we both don’t do stupid shit because we do.” Naruto had one hand on the door and the other near the gear shift. “He’s a good guy, though. Most of his friends are even worse than he is, and it’s not like his mom really has time to watch him being a single mom and all.”

“Right.” Sasuke glanced at Naruto. “Not to be rude, but I can’t say I’m really concerned about what Kiba does or doesn’t do.”

“I know, I know.” Naruto rolled his eyes and then touched the top of the car. “You don’t like him, and it’s not like I don’t get it because he can get on your last nerve, but sometimes I just need to say it, you know. I guess I could talk someone else’s ear off. Wouldn’t be much fun, though.”

Sasuke smiled and laughed a little. “I suppose if you didn’t hassle me then things would be a lot more quiet and boring.”

“That’s right.” Naruto finally pulled the door handle and opened it a crack. “Well, I’m outta here then.”

“Alright.” Sasuke got out of the car and walked towards his front door. His mom’s car was still parked in the drive, but his dad’s was gone. If he quickly changed, he would still make it to Shikamaru’s at a decent time. “Have fun then.” He turned around and called back to Naruto, who was half in his car already. 

“You too. Tell Shikamaru and Chouji I said hey.” Naruto shut the door and waved to him.

He watched Naruto pull out in his burnt orange Audi and drive away. Sasuke picked up his cell and called his mom. When his mother picked up, he quickly let her know he planned on staying at Shikamaru’s for awhile and not to wait up for him when she got home. 

After he hung up his phone, he pulled out his house keys and slipped inside, wondering if they would hang out at all this weekend or if they wouldn’t see each other until Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for the ending not being completely wrapped up, but since this is a slice-of-life moment, it wasn't possible. 
> 
> End of the series for this one.

**Author's Note:**

> There's another part to this that I have to finish up, hopefully within the next day or two. This will also be the last story in this series. At this point, it is taking me way too long to properly get into writing for this series and would only take forever and eternity to do another one.


End file.
